2013 Archive

For the third time, the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission (TICRC, a.k.a.Tobacco Commission) awarded funding to VCU Massey Cancer Center to support cancer research in the tobacco-dependant counties of Southside and Southwest Virginia. Nearly $600,000 was given to support research projects that involve a cohesive mission of cancer prevention and control.

VCU Massey Cancer Center physicians were recognized as “Top Docs” in Richmond Magazine’s April 2013 issue. Topping the list were 34 doctors from varied specialties who provide oncology-related care to Massey's patients. The selections were the result of a survey that asked Richmond-area physicians who they would recommend in a range of specialties. The following full-time Massey physicians were listed as top performers in the categories noted:

If you have ever visited VCU Massey Cancer Center’s Thomas Palliative Care Unit, you have likely seen the effort nurses and staff make to provide a unique, home-like atmosphere for patients and their loved ones. With that effort in mind, palliative care nurse manager Clareen Wiencek, Ph.D., adopted the idea of Palliative Care on Wheels. With funds provided by the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals (MCVH) Auxiliary, the palliative care unit developed a cart full of materials for activities that would offer comfort to patients and their families, as well as tools for the nurses to enhance care.

Can the patterns in tree branches or the meandering bends in a river provide clues that could lead to better cancer therapies? According to a new study from Virginia Commonwealth UniversityMassey Cancer Center, these self-similar, repeating patterns in nature known as fractals help scientists better understand how the immune system is organized and may one day be used to help improve stem cell transplant outcomes in leukemia patients by predicting the probability of transplant complications.

Preclinical, laboratory studies suggest a novel immunotherapy could potentially work like a vaccine against metastatic cancers, according to scientists at Virginia Commonwealth UniversityMassey Cancer Center. Results from a recent study show the therapy could treat metastatic cancers and be used in combination with current cancer therapies while helping to prevent the development of new metastatic tumors and train specialized immune system cells to guard against cancer relapse.